What ‘privileges’ are they talking about?
They are basically working on a bill that would say that journalists do not have to reveal their sources (and cannot be held in contempt of court for failing to do so). The logic behind defining "journalist" for this purpose is purportedly to prevent every witness under the sun from abusing this privilege (by, for example, writing a blog about whatever they heard/witnessed, and then claiming they can't reveal their "source").
They are basically working on a bill that would say that journalists do not have to reveal their sources (and cannot be held in contempt of court for failing to do so). The logic behind defining "journalist" for this purpose is purportedly to prevent every witness under the sun from abusing this privilege (by, for example, writing a blog about whatever they heard/witnessed, and then claiming they can't reveal their "source").